Last week I received a 3 song demo from a local Toronto band who call themselves At Odds With Even. Upon first listen, I have the impression that this is a trio of music lovers who are up on their musical history. I hear traces of The Minutemen, The Melvins and The Cramps who are all bands that only the most astute music fan could successfully draw inspiration from. On the other hand, it's quite possible that Adam Tiessen, Anthony Randall and Dan Roffey are not familiar with those bands at all and they just simply stumbled into this sound without any preconceived mental prodding whatsoever. Either way, this a band that is worthy of our attention.
The demo was presented in an envelope covered in some very original looking artwork and the CD jacket also offered more of the same which leads me to believe that this band is determined to be noticed. The three songs presented on the demo show a broad range of musical styles. Recognize contains some mind altering psychedelia and Adam's vocals remind me a lot of D. Moon from the aforementioned Minutemen. Plastic Bag is the most immediate of the three songs, boasting a lo-fi garage sound and a chunky guitar breakdown that is not dissimilar to the aforementioned Melvins, as well as perhaps begging some comparisons to Mudhoney or Dinosaur Jr. And On The Corner is the third song, a slowed down reggae beat accompanied by some bassy vocals in the chorus that remind me of, yes, you guessed it, The Cramps. There are other songs on their myspace page that showcase a band that does not want to stay confined by any specific musical niche. It'll be interesting to see which direction the band decides to take in the next year or so, but in the meantime they're still playing the occasional gig throughout the city (and likely looking for more gigs too) so keep your eyes peeled and check them out.
At Odds With Even will be playing The Savannah Room on October 31st. PWYC.
Band and film submissions for NXNE 2009 are starting as of November 1st and running till the end of January. More info can be found at nxne.com.
Ryan Adams' Cardinology is out today. According to someearlyreports, the album is being touted as lacklustre, but people were saying that about Easy Tiger too and I really liked that album. So we'll see. Myspace:Ryan Adams
A couple of years ago I had become quite smitten with Shoestring Universe, the alt country debut release by NYC's Proud Simon. I've found that their sophomore album Night Of Criminals had taken me a little bit more time to form an attachment to, but now that I have, I feel that it is a significant step up for the band.
The album is presented as a concept album of sorts, although the storytelling aspect is kept relatively dubious. According to Brian Keenan's official explanation, the album tells the story of a summer's night and ruminations on life, death and all that other important stuff that said night inspired in Brian. The CD is also divided in Acts, with Act I remaining musically straight forward, not straying too far from the alt-country pop stylings of the first album, while Act II finds the band expanding a little bit, both in depth and style. The first two songs, Newspaper Boat and Clockwork On and On are catchy songs, sounding rather mainstream in their delivery. It's on the third song, Tar Washed Ashore, where things start getting interesting. The opening banjo meets fuzz guitar meets psych-prog keyboards is something that you don't hear every day, although in this case it works very well, and surprisingly still leaves the song sounding accessible. Everyone On The Train Could Use A Little Change is a solid southern rocker, while Everywhere is a peppy instrumental that could possibly be my favourite song on the album. Act II begins with Tales As Tall, an eerie number that sets the stage for the menacing second half of the album, equipped with some very chilling cello work. Union Chains dips into a bit of a Fleetwood Mac area, while Second Hand Jackets has a more traditional folksy feel to it. One Night Stand on a Cadmium Yellow Avenue is the greatest pop song that the Counting Crows never recorded and the album ends nicely with Bled Red Wine, a beautiful harmonica laden number that recalls some of the great Harvest like songs of the 70's. Ultimately, I think it's great to see an artist who has the guts to step it up a notch and try something a little bit different from album to album, and hopefully we see Proud Simon continue to do so.
Night Of Criminals sees its official release on November 11th. Above photo by Ivonne Loyola.
Matt Mays & El Torpedo are currently rocking across Canada and in order to celebrate the fact that they're doing so, they're offering two previously unreleased live mp3's for all of y'all to enjoy. They're playing The Phoenix on November 6th.
Noisy pop trio The Happy Hollows is releasing their Imaginary EP as a "pay what you want or nothing at all" type of deal. Personally, I find their brand of lo-fi hooky distortion to be instantly likable. Check out the widget on my sidebar.
R.E.M. is releasing a new double disc deluxe edition of Murmur, arguably their masterpiece. There seems to be a few opinions circulating about this one, and you can read all about it on Pitchfork, Chromewaves, Blurt and Imwan. It hits your favourite record store on November 25th.
R.E.M. w/ Modest Mouse & The National @ Molson Amphitheatre
And another artist whom I've waited all my life to see can now get crossed off that list. Sunday night marked a historical night in the concert going life of yours truly, as I finally got around to seeing R.E.M. in concert. The show was nothing short of spectacular and although I could (and will) make all of the typical long time fan type of complaints, there were still enough surprises to keep me as entertained as a little girl.
First off the band opened with These Days from Life's Rich Pageant, a personal fave and an awesome way to open a show. I cannot express how much that excited me! They continued to rock most triumphantly, following up with Horse To Water (from Accelerate) and What's The Frequency, Kenneth?, ensuring that the fans got off to a delightfully hyper start. I was actually amazed at what a dynamic frontman Stipe is. For some reason, I always pictured him to be much more introverted. But nothing could be farther from the truth. He played the role of eccentric rock star perfectly, with just the right mix of pomp and charisma. Following the John Cusack rule of mixtape making, at that point they took it down a notch with Drive. I'm confident enough with my manhood to admit that I may have teared up a little bit during this song, coming to the realization that the band who practically raised me was actually on the stage in front of me. The show continued to me a fine mix of the old and new, the band pulling out songs like Begin The Begin and 7 Chinese Brothers, all to my surprise, and my favorite moment was during the encore when Johnny Marr joined them onstage for Fall On Me, one of the most beautiful songs ever written.
As I mentioned, my complaints about the show are all very fanboy and typical. They didn't play a lot of the songs that I would've liked to hear. I could've done without hearing BOTH Losing My Religion and Man On The Moon since those are the only songs in the R.E.M. catalogue that I am truly sick of. But clearly my opinion is really only an opinion, because the crowds ate it up. And let's be honest, if they played something like Letter Never Sent, I probably would have had a heart attack. I actually thought it was funny how when Religion was playing the people went nuts, rushing to the front and into the aisles, screaming with unmitigated enthrallment, only to have the band kick them with a shocker by following up with the far less known Second Guessing. I loved jumping around and singing along to that one while all those who were proclaiming their love for the band just a few moments ago, suddenly didn't know what to do with themselves. Bwahahaha! Miss your Mix 99 much?
I also wanted to quickly mention that there was actually a tornado warning for Toronto, and the Amphitheatre is right by the lake which is probably not where you want to be when there's a tornado warning. Prior to R.E.M. hitting the stage, rain was falling and lightning was crashing. But just before they hit the stage, the sky cleared and a rainbow appeared in the sky. It was pretty cool.
Photos: My shots of R.E.M. at Molson Amphitheatre are on flickr. Myspace:R.E.M. Video:Hollow Manyoutube
Typical conversation in my life:
Indie loving friends:Modest Mouse is the greatest thing in the world ever! Me:Yah, I don't know, I.... ILF:Have you ever seen them live? Me:No, I haven't ILF:Oh, well that's why! Cuz' they're just so unbelievably fantastic that their fantasticness makes me feel all fantastic inside!!! Me:I guess I'll have to check them out...
Well, now I've seen them and it was great in its own way, but now I can confidently say that I will never be one of those people who really 'get' them. The playing was tight though, and although I'm not a big MM fan, I am a pretty huge Johnny Marr fan, so there was something very surreal about seeing him. The album I like best is The Moon and Antarctica, and they surprisingly played a couple from that, which was sorta cool. But Isaac Brock's voice still gives me a migraine and their lack of variety still miffs me. But there were a lot of people that were clearly there specifically to see them, and I'm sure that they left completely satisfied.
Photos: Modest Mouse @ Molson Amphitheatre on flickr Myspace:Modest Mouse Video: We've Got Everything on youtube
First openers The National, on the other hand, were gold. They played a 45 minute set that included mainly songs from last years critical darling Boxer, and this show just solidified the fact that they are more than deserving of all of the hype. When I got off the bus at Lakeshore, I heard the band opening with Start A War, so I ran like Forrest Gump to get in the stadium as fast as I could. The sound was magnificent, and it was fun to see this already successful band winning over even more fans. Scattered sporadically throughout the crowd were clearly people who were there specifically to see them, but there were far more in attendance poised for conversion. I saw someone sitting a couple of rows in front of me rush out to pick up their CD. I saw people looking at their significant others and doing that "Wow, they're pretty good" head shake thing. I'm pretty sure that they have been and will continue to be winning over fans throughout the course of the entire tour. Fake Empire sounded downright inspirational and Mistaken For Strangers was also a highlight.
Photos: The National @ Molson Amphitheatre on flickr Myspace:The National Video:Mistaken For Strangers on youtube
Talk About The Passion: R.E.M.'s Contribution To My Musical Growth
I recently read an article discussing the current breed of ultra hip 40-somethings and their success at killing the once unavoidable generation gap. I found the article to be quite thought provoking but at the same time my recent discussion with a young girl at the MGMT show proved to me that the gap is still very much there in many ways. Now the fact that I was talking music with a girl that could have been my daughter, at an MGMT concert, is proof that the gap is in fact closing, I suppose. However it seems to be somewhat of a one way street. Older ones are becoming more aware of what's current, but many younger ones are still a little bit uninformed about the past. I don't want to make a blanket statement here, but the lack of interest among the under 25 crowd for bands such as R.E.M. does leave me a little bit saddened.
The girl that I was speaking to will be at the R.E.M. show at Molson Amphitheater this Sunday but she's going for Modest Mouse. Which is totally cool! However her hatred for R.E.M. had me asking her the question, "Have you heard their old stuff?" to which she replied that she did. However, as our conversation wore on, it became apparent that Losing My Religion was as far back as she went. It's a shame because, in my opinion, I really think that much of today's so-called indie music appreciators would really be impressed with what R.E.M. has accomplished through the years.
This Sunday, I'm FINALLY seeing R.E.M. and, believe it or not, this will be my first time. So, in preparation, I'd like to take a few minutes to share with all of you, (but especially some of my younger readers,) a little trip down memory lane with one of my favorite bands of all time: featuring Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry.
I'll admit that I wasn't there right from the start either. When R.E.M. released their first single, it was 1981, and I was only 8 years old. The first song that I ever heard was also their first minor hit in North America, entitled The One I Love, which came out in 1987. But it was at that time that I backtracked and found myself falling in love with their early material. That first single in '81, was Radio Free Europe, and most bands don't put out a song that infectious ever, let alone at their first time to bat. Michael Stipe had the most original voice I'd ever heard. The lyrics were mostly inaudible, but his ability to spit out those syllables with so much conviction made me want to sing along, even if it meant making up my own words in the process.
Video:Radio Free Europe Live on David Letterman October 6th, 1983.
The EP that was released shortly after was Chronic Town and it followed that same pattern. I still feel that it is probably the greatest EP ever released and, if I'm being honest, only its brevity prevents it from being my favourite R.E.M. album over all. Listen to 1 000 000, and keep in mind that when this song came out, artists like Olivia Newton-John, Men at Work and the new disco-fied Blondie were climbing the charts.
Stream: 1 000 000
After that, R.E.M. released the appropriately titled Murmur. This album is a certified classic, lauded by many as being one of the greatest albums of the 80's, possibly of all time. It was so incredibly ahead of its time. It was alt-country, eight years before No Depression. It squished slurred and indecipherable vocals into a pop mold, 10 years before Nevermind. It was brooding and melancholic, 2 years before The Smiths. It was jangle Byrds-ian guitar pop at a time when emulating the folksy 60's was not considered accurately looking into the musical future. It was far too good for the masses and only the college crowd seemed to get it at the time.
Stream: Talk About The Passion
What's interesting is that I don't even consider Murmur to be their best album. No, that honor goes to the next one, entitled Reckoning. However, that's like comparing delicious apples to even more tempting and delicious apples, because both albums are classics, along with the two that followed (Fables of the Reconstruction and Life's Rich Pageant.) Yes, the band accomplished a grand slam homerun, a hat trick plus one, releasing four perfect albums in a row, and doing so with their very first recordings. Even Radiohead hasn't accomplished that. I cannot stress enough that if you are only familiar with their work over the last 20 years or so, and you love music, then you owe it to yourself to search out these gems. I find that taking the time to do this, not only helps you discover some long lost gold, but it also helps one to find good in their latter, and somewhat lesser works as well.
Video: Fall On Me (one of the most beautiful songs ever written)
Video: So. Central Rain (my vote for the best single of the 80's)
Stream: Just A Touch (pure adrenalin fueled college rock) Listen to it here
The years that followed saw the band garnering a little bit more of a commercial following. Document and Green had a few hits, and each song seemed to be a bigger hit than the one before. This did not mean that these albums had any less impact on me however. They were perfect pop albums at a time when people were relying too heavily on synths and gimmicks to be recording perfect pop. This certainly paved the way for bands like Teenage Fanclub and Matthew Sweet later on.
Video: It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
After that came Out Of Time, and this is when they became the greatest rock band in the world. I suppose that it's not a surprise that this is actually my least favorite album by them. But it's not because it's popular. I work hard not to let my opinions be gaged by the way other people feel. I don't consider myself to be an indie rock rebel. I just find this album to be a little bit on the dull side, especially considering what I know the band is capable of. But this is by no means a bad album. Songs like the spoken word Belong and the jingle jangle of Texarcana show that the band still had a lot of creative juices flowing.
Stream: Belong
And then the band had their first amazing comeback. Automatic For The People was a popular album. It also rivaled Murmur as a fan favorite. It accomplished what other bands would love to accomplish: climbing to number one on the charts, while still keeping the die hard fans on board. It breaks your heart (Try Not To Breathe, Nightswimming); it makes you laugh (The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight); it rocks (Ignoreland) and it mesmerizes (Drive.) At a time when their greatest rivals U2 were releasing songs like Lemon (ugh) and what was, in my opinion, one of the most overrated albums ever (Achtung! Baby), R.E.M. was still as interesting and pertinent as they ever were. (Am I gonna get flamed for the Achtung! comment? Probably. Thank goodness for comment moderation...)
Stream: Nightswimming
From then on, I'll admit that R.E.M. was more of a hit or miss affair and I don't blame some people for being disinterested. But I still don't think that they have ever put out a completely bad album. Monster, Up and Around The Sun all contained a lot of filler, but they also shared certain moments of intrigue. Their soundtrack work has been excellent particularly the songs that were used in Man On The Moon and Vanilla Sky. Reveal is a sunny pop album that I've grown to enjoy as much as Green, and New Adventures In Hi-fi, upon further listening, may actually be one of their overlooked classics.
Video: The Great Beyond on youtube Video: Imitation Of Life on youtube
Which brings us to their latest release, Accelerate, or as I like to call it: comeback number three. While not quite the return to form that people have been preaching, it is still easily their best album since Automatic, and just a very good album from start to finish. Living Well Is The Best Revenge rocks it old school. Hollow Man has Stipe sounding more vulnerable than he has in years. Supernatural Superserious is a very good single. The title track has a gloriously infectious hook for a chorus. And album ender I'm Gonna DJ is not meant to be taken too seriously, and for that reason it had me laughing out loud the first time that I heard it. It's gonna sound great in concert.
Video: Hollow Man
So while it's true that this is technically my first time seeing R.E.M. in concert, they're influence has been felt throughout the majority of my concert going experiences. Whether it has been appreciated or not is another story. But I hope that fans of The National and Modest Mouse stick around for these originals. They're deserving of such respect. They were here first, and the timelessness of their contributions to modern rock is simply immeasurable. However, that's just one old guy's opinion.
Short answer? Tons. Grab yourself a drink and some cereal, sit back and relax because this is going to be one lengthy post. June is a month of legends and NXNE and it's going to be so full of the rawk that I'm going to make sure that I chill out a little bit in July. I won't pull another January hiatus or anything, but I'm fairly sure that June is going to cause me some significant wipe out action.
Things get all started tomorrow night when I see the reunited Eric's Trip at The Mod Club. For those that aren't in the know, the Trip are one of the truly great lo-fi bands of the 90's, cranking out four official CD's and several independent EP's and cassette releases during that time. Since then, Rick White and Julie Doiron have gone on to have some more success in their own write, but nothing compares to the insane heartbreak fueled distortion that they created when they were together. I've been listening to Love Tara and Forever Again all day today in preparation for the show, and it's amazing how well those songs hold up. Can you tell I'm excited? When picking up the tickets, the brother at Soundscapes told me that I should be sure not to miss the opening bands because they're also spectacular. He's got impeccable taste so I'll take his word for it. They are Quest For Fire and $100.
If seeing Eric's Trip isn't enough, Sunday June 8th marks the day that I FINALLY see R.E.M. In the next few days, I'll be composing my love letter to R.E.M. that will help you more fully understand why this is such a big deal for me, but for now let's just say that, in many ways, R.E.M. has made me the obsessive musical compulsive that I am today. Also, Accelerate is their best album in 15 years. The opening bands are not too shabby either and you may have heard of them also. They are Modest Mouse and The National. Familiar with them? Opening for R.E.M. should give them that little push that they need in their little careers. (YES! Sarcasm, give me more!!!) It's been a long time since I've been to a show in an amphitheater setting, so we'll see how I handle being in the 200 level as opposed to being up front like I always am. Hopefully I don't get too grumpy.
Which brings us to NXNE! Boy, did I have a hard time deciding where I was going to go. There's a lot of great stuff going on, but a whole whack of conflicts as well. However I think that I discovered a feasible schedule that has the greatest number of good bands with the least amount of traveling. So take a deep breath .... and here goes:
The fest doesn't officially start until Thursday June 12, but there are a few early shows that are part of the NXNE-Extra series. Wednesday night (June 11) I'll be trying to attend Lightspeed Champion at Lee's Palace. This might be tricky since the press badges are not available for pick up until Thursday at noon, but I'm trying to see what I can do. I'd like to get in though because I think that this will be an incredibly fun way to get the festival started.
On Thursday night (June 12), I plan on making my way to The Supermarket to see Cancel Winter (10pm), followed by Amos The Transparent (11pm). Amos' Jonathan Chandler eluded to the fact that this was going to be a very exciting and different show the last time that he was in town, so I'm looking forward to finding out what he meant by that. I would go and check out Sloan at The Mod Club, but I'm not available until 10, and they come on at 9. However, there's a rumour circulating that they will be heading on up to Lee's Palace afterwards for a 1am show. If said rumour is true, then I'll be leaving after Amos The Transparent's set and heading down to Lee's. If not, then I'll just stay put and check out Great Bloomers (midnight). Sounds like a win-win situation to me.
I'm going to try to start things off a little bit earlier on Friday night (June 13) by zipping on down to Yonge and Dundas Square to see Hospital Bombers at 8pm, followed by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists at 9. The rest of the evening was very difficult to choose but I think I settled on seeing Julie Doiron (11pm), followed by Evan Dando (midnight) at The Horseshoe. I loved The Lemonheads but they're another band that falls into the love 'em but never seen 'em section of my life. Afterwards I might take a chance and tunnel through the center of the Earth to catch Swervedriver (1am) at Lee's, but I'm really not going to get my hopes up for that.
And now for Saturday night (June 14th)! If Thursday and Friday night are as action packed as I think they'll be, then I'm going to look forward to spending time with my wife on Saturday because it is our anniversary. 11 years! Where does the time go?
However, once dinner and a movie is done, the wife and I are still planning on catching a couple of shows and here's the plan. Spiral Beach (10pm), followed by Hey Rosetta! (11pm) at The Horseshoe. Some may feel it's sacreligious to exit before Matt Mays and El Torpedo (midnight) takes the stage, but I've been looking forward to the next show at Lee's Palace for a long time. We start with Miss Derringer (midnight), followed by another blast from the past in Redd Kross (1am). Should be fun! If we still have an unbelievable amount of energy, then we might go to El Mocambo to see Patrick Krief's latest project entitled Black Diamond Bay (2am) But probably not.
Exhausted yet? If you've read this far, you're the king. But wait there's more! On Monday (June16), I'm breaking my promise and actually going back to the Kool Haus to catch Besnard Lakes with the mighty mighty My Morning Jacket, one of the greatest live bands ever in the world ever. I am puh-huh-mped about this one!
And so ends my ridiculously full month of June. Unless you include Ohbijou with Jill Barber at Harbourfront Center on June 28th. Which I don't see any reason why you wouldn't.
Trying To Separate An Ocean From These Tears We Cried...
It's February, it's snowing like a madman and you've been very patient so let's back into this...
All of the official reviews and whatnots shall commence starting tomorrow, but today I just thought that I'd get all random and just talk about whatever I darn well feel like talking about. Musically speaking, of course.
First of all, looks like I won't be freezing my can off with The Weakerthans tomorrow after all. You see, when I got married 10 and a half years ago, my wife took on the job of remembering stuff and I took on the job of not. So she remembered that we have a family engagement this Saturday night and I, of course, did not. Family first, kids, which means the rest of y'all will have to tell me how the show went. I guarantee that I'll be catching them someday, but whatever.
Download Weakerthans songs: Last Last One mp3 / Aside mp3 / Plea From A Cat Named Virtute mp3
Also, I made a promise to myself and others that I'll be toning down the concert goings this year (last year almost killed me,) but that doesn't mean that there aren't any good shows awaiting my future. This month I've got Dean and Britta at The Mod Club on February 9th. They're actually opening for Keren Ann, who sounds very reserved from what I know of her, which isn't much.
(UPDATE: Apparently, Dean & Britta and Keren Ann are doing a double headlining tour which means that they will take turns as headliners. This means that for the Toronto show, Keren is the opener and D&B takes the headlining slot. Suh-weet!!)
I've also got the magnificent Nicole Atkins on February 17th, who is going to blow your mind if you take this opportunity to see her. I can't wait. I'm hoping to catch Mr. Dan Bejar as Destroyer at Lee's Palace on April 19th. He'll be supporting his new CD 'Trouble In Dreams' which is out in March. And the most exciting news is the return of R.E.M. Now I truly hate the Molson Amphitheater with an intense passion, but check out this lineup: R.E.M. has The National and Modest Mouse opening for them. That's ridiculous. I'll have to wait on the price, but I may be willing to break into the piggy bank for that one. That show is on June 8th. The new CD is called 'Accelerate' and it's out on April 1st. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but from what I've heard it sounds like this has the potential to be the college rock comeback that I've been waiting for. Sweetness follows....
Download: Destroyer - Foam Hands mp3 The National - Fake Empire mp3 Keren Ann -Lay Your Head Down mp3 Dean and Britta - Words You Used To Say mp3
Finally, I'm not sure if I'll be able to attend all of the TWM showcases to come, but even if I can catch one a month, that'd be wicked cool. And this month's first one sounds like a good place to start. The Schomberg Fair, The Stables and B.A Johnston. Mmm-hmmm. February 8th. There's more neat shows coming up, but gah, I'll talk about that another time.
Download: The Schomberg Fair - John The Revelator mp3 / Some Things Never Change mp3 The Stables - Too Old To Skate mp3
My latest issue of Under The Radar has just arrived. I decided to subscribe since I pick up every issue anyways. Right now it's doing a whole half price thing and of course, you get the free CD too (mine was Prefuse 73's 'Preparations'. I'll let you know if it's any good.) The cover features a project that I'm mega excited about, going under the name She & Him. It's actually Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward and what I've heard sounds amazing. The CD is called 'Volume One' and it's out on March 18th on Merge.
Download: M. Ward featuring Zooey Deschanel - When I Get To The Border mp3 (from The Go-Getter Soundtrack)
I think that'll do, donkey, that'll do. Enjoy the downloads and hopefully tomorrow I'll be throwing up some reviews on the artists that have been exciting me over the last few weeks.
There are several music related tidbits that I have found out about recently that have me as excited as a music freak can possibly be.
First off, I'm going to be seeing St. Vincent (or Annie Clark to her parents) at The Horseshoe tomorrow night. Her album "Marry Me" has been in constant rotation on my ipod for the past week in preparation for the big show. I was completely blown away by her, when she opened for Midlake back in February, and then, after further research, I realized that I was already sort of a fan, thanks to her association with The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens. Her performance that night was quite a bit different than the way she sounds on this release, but I'm a big fan of both. Live, she was just a crazy, brilliant and endearing performer with a guitar and piano, shifting easily between hyperactivity and sensitivity. She does the same on the album, only with a much fuller sound. Apparently she plays the bulk of the instruments herself (and there's a heckuva lot of them) and, for me, she comes across as sort of a Kate Bush for the new millennium.
Download: Now Now mp3 Visit St Vincent on myspace.
Also, on Monday, I'm finally seeing They Might Be Giants, which is something that I've been wanting to do since my late teens. But what has recently added to my excitement is the news that Hamilton's Young Rival (formerly known as The Ride Theory) are going to be opening the show. To this day, I still consider them to be one of the most fun bands to see live. It's like entering into a time warp to the late 60's, perhaps dropping into one of the club scenes in Antonioni's Blow Up. A mod show at The Mod Club. Hmm. Interesting.
Speaking of opening acts, I also recently found out that The Last Town Chorus will be opening for Camera Obscura on August 26th. That is going to be one outstanding double bill. Sadly, it's being held at The Phoenix, in all of its glorious packed in like sardines-ness. That means we'll have to get there early so that we can stand at the front so that I can see something. Because I'm short. Either that or everybody that goes to a concert is tall. Whatev's.
As I've been mourning the absence of The Weekend in my life (I'm speaking about the band, although I often miss the literal weekend as well,) I've recently discovered that frontchik Andrea Wasse (who is apparently residing in L.A these days) has started another side project called Macleod. Judging by the songs on their myspace, Andrea's still got it man. Purrfect pop that everybody would be better off listening to.
And finally, I recently heard from the Pop Kulcher blog, who recently heard from the I Am Fuel blog, that R.E.M. has been debuting several new songs at their Olympia Theatre shows in Dublin. One of those shows is available for download on that site. If the final songs sound as good as the live versions posted here, than R.E.M. will officially have made their third comeback, in my opinion, which puts them one up on U2. I haven't heard them sound this exciting since 1986. That's pretty significant. Huzzah!!!
Perhaps You Missed It: Big Star's #1 Record/Radio City
Another weekly post that I would like to start is what I will call the “Perhaps You Missed It…” post. This is where I will feature a release from the past that should have been huge but for whatever reason, didn’t quite make much of an impression at the time. This week I’m starting with the highly influential Big Star. Talk about wrong place, wrong time. If they had come out in the mid-60’s or the mid-90’s, I’m sure more people would have heard of them. However, their first album, ironically titled #1 Record, was released in 1972. With progressive rock on the FM, and mellow singer-songwriter artists on the AM, people were simply not interested in jangly Byrds-esque pop music. Add to that, very limited support and promotion from their record company (big surprise) and you’ve got a band that was destined to sink deep under the radar of popularity. But Big Star has written some of the greatest pop songs of all time in my opinion and this is showcased heavily on their first two albums, which can be easily found on one CD, aptly entitled #1 Record/Radio City.
No doubt you’ve heard some of these songs before covered by other artists. Elliott Smith, Wilco and Mary Lou Lord have all done beautiful versions of “Thirteen.” “The Ballad Of El Goodo” was covered on the Empire Records soundtrack by Evan Dando. The Bangles did a cool version of “September Gurls” which gets my vote for being the greatest pop song ever written. And probably the most popular cover, “In The Street” can be heard by Cheap Trick as the theme song to “That 70’s Show.” Altogether now: “Hangin’ out! Down the street…” Their influence can also be heard all over the music of early R.E.M., The Replacements, and, most notably Teenage Fanclub. I won’t go over the entire history of the band since it’s been documented all over the place in great detail, but if you haven’t yet heard this masterpiece of an album, please do so. Recently, Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens have reformed the band with a couple members of The Posies. They released a new CD a couple of years ago and they play the occasional show. But nothing compares to those first two albums when it comes to pure jangle pop perfection.
Last week I received a 3 song demo from a local Toronto band who call themselves At Odds With Even. Upon first listen, I have the impression that this is a trio of music lovers who are up on their musical history. I hear traces of The Minutemen, The Melvins and The Cramps who are all bands that only the most astute music fan could successfully draw inspiration from. On the other hand, it's quite possible that Adam Tiessen, Anthony Randall and Dan Roffey are not familiar with those bands at all and they just simply stumbled into this sound without any preconceived mental prodding whatsoever. Either way, this a band that is worthy of our attention.
